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The present article describes a standard instrument for the continuous online determination of retinal vessel diameters, the commercially available retinal vessel analyzer. This report is intended to provide informed guidelines for measuring ocular blood flow with this system. The report describes the principles underlying the method and the instruments currently available, and discusses clinical protocol and the specific parameters measured by the system. Unresolved questions and the possible limitations of the technique are also discussed.
The integration of nanostructured films containing biomolecules and silicon-based technologies is a promising direction for reaching miniaturized biosensors that exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity. A challenge, however, is to avoid cross talk among sensing units in an array with multiple sensors located on a small area. In this letter, we describe an array of 16 sensing units of a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS), which was made with layer-by-layer (LbL) films of a poly(amidomine) dendrimer (PAMAM) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), coated with a layer of the enzyme penicillinase. A visual inspection of the data from constant-current measurements with liquid samples containing distinct concentrations of penicillin, glucose, or a buffer indicated a possible cross talk between units that contained penicillinase and those that did not. With the use of multidimensional data projection techniques, normally employed in information visualization methods, we managed to distinguish the results from the modified LAPS, even in cases where the units were adjacent to each other. Furthermore, the plots generated with the interactive document map (IDMAP) projection technique enabled the distinction of the different concentrations of penicillin, from 5 mmol L−1 down to 0.5 mmol L−1. Data visualization also confirmed the enhanced performance of the sensing units containing carbon nanotubes, consistent with the analysis of results for LAPS sensors. The use of visual analytics, as with projection methods, may be essential to handle a large amount of data generated in multiple sensor arrays to achieve high performance in miniaturized systems
On the model of musculocutaneous wound in rats, the effect of applicative sorption by carbonized rise shell (CRS) on the healing of festering wound was studied. It has been shown, that cytological changes end with rapid scar formation. The use of CRS at the period of severe purulent wound contributes to its favorable course, prevents the development of complications of the animals from sepsis.
A novel tomographic scheme for analysing the state of any single membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in a stack is suggested. Plates of very high conductivity placed between every fuel cell and slitted in an appropriate manner cause surface currents at well-defined locations of the stack. We show that knowing these surface currents, information about anomalies of the currents in a MEA can be obtained using the methods of tomography. The results are mathematically not unique. However, when assuming plausible defect structures, one can exclude improbable deficiencies by applying a special form of simulated annealing. We present numerical calculations of typical examples demonstrating that the essential defects of the MEA in any single cell of the stack can be detected and their extent can be determined.
Following the success of PET/CT during the last decade and the recent increasing proliferation of SPECT/CT, another hybrid imaging instrument has been gaining more and more interest: MR-PET. First combined, simultaneous PET and MR studies carried out in small animals demonstrated the feasibility of the new approach. Concurrently, some prototypes of an MR-PET scanner for simultaneous human brain studies have been built, their performance is being tested and preliminary applications have already been shown. Through this pioneering work, it has become clear that advances in the detector design are necessary for further optimization.
Recently, the different issues related to the present state and future prospects of MR-PET were presented and discussed during an international 2-day workshop at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, held after, and in conjunction with, the 2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference in Dresden, Germany on October 27–28, 2008. The topics ranged from small animal MR-PET imaging to human MR-BrainPET imaging, new detector developments, challenges/opportunities for ultra-high field MR-PET imaging and considerations of possible future research and clinical applications. This report presents a critical summary of the contributions made to the workshop.
Patients after coarctation repair still have an increased risk of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events. This has been explained by the persisting hypertension and alterations in the peripheral vessels. However, involvement of the central vessels such as the retinal arteries is virtually unknown. A total of 34 patients after coarctation repair (22 men and 12 women; 23 to 58 years old, age range 0 to 32 years at surgical repair) and 34 nonhypertensive controls underwent structural and functional retinal vessel analysis. Using structural analysis, the vessel diameters were measured. Using functional analysis, the endothelium-dependent vessel dilation in response to flicker light stimulation was assessed. In the patients after coarctation repair, the retinal arteriolar diameter was significantly reduced compared to that of the controls (median 182 μm, first to third quartile 171 to 197; vs 197 μm, first to third quartile 193 to 206; p <0.001). These findings were independent of the peripheral blood pressure and age at intervention. No differences were found for venules. The functional analysis findings were not different between the patients and controls (maximum dilation 3.5%, first to third quartile 2.1% to 4.5% vs 3.6%, first to third quartile 2.2% to 4.3%; p = 0.81), indicating preserved autoregulative mechanisms. In conclusion, the retinal artery diameter is reduced in patients after coarctation repair, independent of their current blood pressure level and age at intervention. As a structural marker of chronic vessel damage associated with past, current, or future hypertension, retinal arteriolar narrowing has been linked to stroke incidence. These results indicate an involvement of cerebral microcirculation in aortic coarctation, despite timely repair, and might contribute to explain the increased rate of cerebrovascular events in such patients.
Objective
To investigate whether functional brain networks of epilepsy patients treated with antiepileptic medication differ from networks of healthy controls even during the seizure-free interval.
Methods
We applied different rules to construct binary and weighted networks from EEG and MEG data recorded under a resting-state eyes-open and eyes-closed condition from 21 epilepsy patients and 23 healthy controls. The average shortest path length and the clustering coefficient served as global statistical network characteristics.
Results
Independent on the behavioral condition, epileptic brains exhibited a more regular functional network structure. Similarly, the eyes-closed condition was characterized by a more regular functional network structure in both groups. The amount of network reorganization due to behavioral state changes was similar in both groups. Consistent findings could be achieved for networks derived from EEG but hardly from MEG recordings, and network construction rules had a rather strong impact on our findings.
Conclusions
Despite the locality of the investigated processes epileptic brain networks differ in their global characteristics from non-epileptic brain networks. Further methodological developments are necessary to improve the characterization of disturbed and normal functional networks.
Significance
An increased regularity and a diminished modulation capability appear characteristic of epileptic brain networks.
Simultaneous detection of cyanide and heavy metals for environmental analysis by means of µISEs
(2010)
In environmental analysis, cyanide and heavy metals play an important role, because these substances are highly toxic for biological systems. They can lead to chronic and acute diseases. Due to the chemical properties of cyanide it is frequently used for industrial processes such as extraction of silver and gold. Heavy metals can be found as trace elements in nature and are often applied in industries e.g., galvanization processes. Up to now, cyanide and heavy metals can be detected by several sensors separately and their detection is often limited to laboratory investigations. In this publication, with regard to an in situ analysis, a new miniaturized silicon-based sensor system for the simultaneous detection of cyanide and heavy metals in aqueous solutions is presented that is based on chalcogenide glass-based micro ion-selective electrodes (µISEs). The µISEs are incorporated into a specially designed measuring system for the simultaneous detection of heavy metals and cyanide in solutions and validated by simultaneous measurements of Cu2+- and CN−-ions, Cd2+- and CN−- ions and Pb2+- and CN−-ions. The particular sensor system has shown good sensor properties in the µ-molar ion-concentration range. For simultaneous measurements in complex heavy metal and cyanide solutions an intelligent software using fuzzy logic is discussed.